This year’s Cannes Film Festival is set to wrap up after the main awards are handed out on Saturday.
The cast and directors of 22 films competing this year are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the prizes, as everyone vies for the award for best film, the Palme d’Or.
Some of the most memorable moments that happened within the past two weeks by the coast of the French Riviera include: the screening of what is expected to be Tom Cruise’s final return as Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning, for which he received a standing ovation.
Juliette Binoche, renowned French actress, serving as the jury president for the 78th edition of this festival, gave a speech drawing the world’s attention to the killing of Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, whose documentary on the Gaza War was selected for Cannes. Hundreds of film industry figures signed an open letter to call out the entertainment industry for its silence on the war during the eve of the festival.
Famed actors turned into directors: Praise was doled out for Kristen Stewart, 35, for her film “The Chronology of Water”, Harris Dickinson, 28, for “Urchin”, and Scarlett Johansson for her directorial debut in “Eleanor the Great”. World-famous actors including Angelina Jolie and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan also graced the carpet to the delight of their fans.
Critics’ favourites for the Palme d’Or include dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident” and family drama “Sentimental Value” by Norway’s Joachim Trier, however, who the prize is awarded to remains difficult to predict.
Despite the air of excitement for those that share in a passion for the visual arts, US president Donald Trump’s pledge to implement 100-percent tariffs on movies “produced in foreign lands” has elicited a disbelief and dampened the spirit of Cannes slightly.
The closing and awards ceremony is expected to commence 4:45pm GMT on Saturday.